Replacing Iron Man's cynicism with national pride and Captain America's perishable flesh with a rigid metal exoskeleton, Iron Patriot is the perfect amalgamation of two of Marvel's most popular heroes – and he's got one hell of a paint job. Several men have had the honour of filling the Iron Patriot's suit in the comics, including Spider-Man villain Norman Osborn and, in the Marvel Ultimates alternate universe, Antonio 'Tony' Stark. In the Iron Man movies, Don Cheadle's Rhodey starts off life as War Machine (Stark: "That is so much better than Iron Patriot") before getting a name-change, a red, white and blue makeover and a sweet gig protecting the President. Hoo-ra.

Black Panther

Black Panter

The first mainstream black superhero (who wasn't an atrocious racial stereotype), Black Panther hails from the fictional land of Wakanda, Africa. The chief of the Panther Tribe in his homeland, noble warrior T'Challa would eventually become the superhero we know and love by channelling the Panther God. You want to know how much this guy loves his country? He broke up with his young sweetheart – none other than weather-controlling mutant hottie Ororo Munroe aka Storm aka HALLE BERRY – in order to become King of Wakanda (spoiler alert: they later ended up getting married and ruled Wakanda together). Last time we checked, Steve Rogers wasn't King of America.

Say what you like about Fantastic Four antagonist Victor von Doom – he's evil, he's got a metal face, he's a murderous megalomaniac etc – but he sure loves his country. Hailing from the fictional nation of Latveria (surrounded by the Carpathian mountains if you ever want to go there on fictional holiday), Doctor Doom loves his homeland so much he rules it with an iron face – sorry, fist – and keeps his populace under constant surveillance, even keeping his people within Latveria's borders with a force field and the threat of violence. Basically, if you take off his metal mask and give him a rubbish haircut, he's Kim Jong-Un.

Uncle Sam

Uncle Sam

Making his debut in National Comics in 1940, Uncle Sam is the personification of the United States – a mystical being conjured from the spirit of an American soldier who died in the Revolutionary War and appears whenever his country needs him most. It can't be coincidence that comic-book hero Uncle Sam has the exact same look as JM Flagg's iconic poster character; flowing white hair, goatee beard and a stern look that says 'I want YOU (dead)'. His powers are "proportionate to the country's faith in the ideals of liberty and freedom", which makes him the toughest guy on the planet on the 4th of July. Still, it must be hard to fight for justice in such ridiculous trousers.

Guardian

Guardian

Watch oot world: Canada has their very own superhero, eh? Where America treads, Canada follows – meet Guardian aka James 'Mac' MacDonald Hudson Jr, the Canadian equivalent of Captain America. Hudson formed 'the Canadian Avengers' in the form of Alpha Flight (including one-time member Wolverine and, um, Sasquatch) and also goes by the name of Weapon Alpha and the much cooler-sounding monicker of Vindicator. Guardian is a pretty run-of-the-mill name for Canada's most famous superhero (suck it Captain Canuck, you hoser), but there's no mistaking him: he's the guy wearing the red and white bodysuit covered in a giant maple leaf.